1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a seal around a braided cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the oil and gas industry, the term wireline typically refers to a cable used by operators of oil and gas wells to lower downhole tools, such as logging sensors, into a wellbore for purposes of well intervention and reservoir evaluation. The wireline may be a braided line and may contain an inner core of insulated wires, which provide power to equipment located at the end of the wireline, and provides a pathway for electrical telemetry for communication between the surface and equipment at the end of the wireline. The wireline resides on the surface, wound around a large diameter (e.g., 3 to 10 feet diameter) spool of a winch. The winch may be portable (e.g., on the back of a truck) or a semi-permanent part of the drilling rig. The winch may include a motor and drive train operable to turn the spool, thereby raising and lowering the tools into and out of the well.
A pressure control head is also employed during wireline operations to contain pressure originating from the wellbore. However, braided cable presents problems as pressure is likely to communicate between and under the multiple strands of the braid. For this reason, the pressure control head includes a grease injector for injecting thick grease into and around the cable in conjunction with a stuffing box for sealing against an outer surface of the cable while allowing the wireline to slide through. However, if a more semi-permanent stationary seal is required around the braided cable (for example, in the deployment of a power cable suspended electric submersible pump (ESP) system) continuous grease injection may not be convenient.